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Communities near the fishing industry of Bristol Bay are larger and often have more seasonal and year-round work opportunities than those inland, near the proposed Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska. Some residents, despite concerns about possible impacts to water quality, are eager to take jobs on related infrastructure projects that would be the mine’s foundation.  In the village of Kokhanok, a “man camp” was built this summer to house people working to develop the mine.

Alejandro Rama loves basketball and is a mentor with Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation’s mentorship program. When Rama was growing up he would frequently turn to his coach for answers about the game, school, or whatever was on his mind. At 16, Rama now understands how important it is to have a role model when you are young.

Women’s advocates call President Donald Trump’s use of the name Pocahontas as a jab at U.S. Senator Elisabeth Warren disrespectful to tribes and harmful to Native women.  Advocates point to the story of Pocahontas, a Pamunkey Indian, as being romanticized too often. Advocates add the Pocahontas story is in fact about kidnap and rape and sadly resonates with modern-day Indigenous women.

“To dismiss, minimize that story (Pocahontas) or to make her invisible from who she is as a human, to explain to people why that’s inappropriate is very exhausting,” said Amber Kanazbah Crotty, an advocate and Navajo Nation lawmaker.